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Abergavenny teacher features in Dr Who

TO his pupils he is known as Mr Carlsen but to many outside the classroom he is a Time Lord in the Doctor Who audio series.

Sean Carlsen, 44, of Llanfoist, has appeared in theatre and on our television screens for 20 years in TV series such as Torchwood, Casualty and Skins, as well as on stage in productions which include Dust about the miners’ strike.

Now the Newport-born actor is carving out a career in teaching, enabling him to combine his passion for acting with training to be a teaching assistant.

Mr Carlsen began training in September and is carrying out a placement at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, near Abergavenny.

His work as an actor saw him take to the road on tour regularly but when he needed to be at home to look after his two daughters, Lilli, five, and Mali, seven, Mr Carlsen applied to become a teaching assistant.

Despite this, he still finds the time to record the Doctor Who audio series Gallifrey when he isn’t teaching Year Six pupils.

Mr Carlsen, who trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, has appeared in the BBC series Doctor Who. He was the The Policeman in David Tennant’s first full episode, The Christmas Invasion in 2005.

Mr Tennant was the tenth doctor. The episode also starred Billie Piper.

He had a cameo in the spin-off series Torchwood as the head of Cardiff City Council who was killed by an alien.

He said: “I’ve been very lucky to have been involved with the Doctor Who audio series for ten years now as the Time Lord Narvin.

“We record the series in a studio in West London over a period of three months and perform radio plays, as well as for CDs and downloads.

“They feature characters from the classic series and actresses like Lynda Bellingham and Lalla Ward.”

“As a kid, I was a huge fan of Doctor Who so working with previous doctors Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Paul McGann on the audio series and David Tennant on TV was a dream come true.”

“Teaching was something that fitted around my family.

I enjoy working with children and I’m loving it.

“My pupils and daughters don’t really know that I’m a Time Lord – but they will now.”